SHOT Show 2024 (Thursday AM Update)

It’s that time of year again, SHOT Show. As in years previous, we will be trolling through the SHOT coverage and curating what we believe are the best announcements in guns, gear, gadgets, and whatever else nonsense they put out. We will be updating this page throughout the week, with the newest stuff appearing at the top of the page and the title being updated as well.

*As always, check back soon as I will update this post daily through out the week.*

BERETTA: 30X Cat Pistols

Following the success of the introduction of their 80X series in .380, Beretta has introduced a new run of their .32ACP Bobcat and Tomcat pistols. Featuring the signature tip-up barrel, the guns are a new generation for the modern market. They have drift-adjustable sights that can be swapped for red dot mounts. The new guns also come with optional threaded barrels and are intended for use with either a silencer (awesome) or a muzzle break (hilarious). These guns are seriously redesigned, as is evidenced by the mag release being moved from the heel to the market standard position (just below the thumb). These guns have always been well liked by people who know what they’re talking about, and now that they have been redesigned, I fully expect Beretta to make a bunch of them.

Gimmicks aside, the 30X series of guns are great options for CCW-ers who don’t have giant hands nor lots of grip strength. The tip-up barrel means that these guns can be loaded and fired without ever having to work the slide. They are chambered in .32ACP, so managing recoil will be a non-issue in almost everyone who owns a gun. They are small, lightweight, soft recoiling, and pseudo optics ready out of the box. And if you think that .32 isn’t enough for CCW, there are millions of dead Europeans from the 20th century who would disagree. 

SMITH & WESSON: Model 1854 Lever Gun in .44 Mag

This one is a real “out of left field” entry. Big Blue out of nowhere decides to get in on the current lever gun resurgence with new production Model 1854 rifles, and they started with .44 mag. To their credit, they are actually following the zeitgeist and sending it out with a rail on top for optics mounting and threaded barrels. This, in my mind, shows that they are actually putting some thought into the guns’ design and target audience. The new ’54s have both a King’s loading gate on the side and the mag tube can be pulled out and emptied out the front. I do appreciate having both options instead of limited to one or the other. The gun also supposedly fits all the tactical levergun stuff make for Marlin 1854s as well, so aftermarket support should already be available. The trigger is the most unique aspect of the ’54, because S&W decided t put a flat-faced trigger on it. As far as I know this is the first flat trigger for a lever gun.

Honestly, if this gun had been introduced 4 or 5 years ago it would have been a market breaking event, but today? I hope they make a good rifle (let’s not have another M&P-12 fiasco!) and I hope they have large demand. With an MSRP of ~$1300, it won’t be a budget option, but still competitive. Overall, still a good showing from S&W.

DANIEL DEFENSE: H9 Pistol

Now, shock of all shocks, THE HUDSON H9 IS BACK! I never expected to see this gun in production again, ever. Not in a hundred years! It was going to be my generation’s equivalent of the Wolverine, or the Mateba Unica 6*. Super cool, low production, very expensive on the aftermarket. Now, since the legend of the gun has proliferated and the gun-buying public knows what it is, it is back in production! The best part is that the H9 is now being made by Daniel Defense. DD has the production capability and business acumen to keep the H9 up & going this time around. The H9 died because of poor business and marketing decisions by their executive team, the gun itself actually met the hype. In case it wasn’t obvious already, I’m super pumped about this announcement.

Apparently, Daniel Defense has been working on the new H9 since 2020 and re-engineered every single part of the H9. They say that the only interchangeable part is some internal sear spring. DD has invested serious time & energy into making this gun run, and run well. Also, this H9 is going to start with the aluminum frame that Hudson didn’t last long enough to bring to market, and has an optics plate system. The future of the H9 looks good in the hands of its’ new adopted home.

*or the Coonan .357-chambered 1911, or the 44-magnum automag

AVIDITY ARMS: PD10 now in 30 Super Carry

Rob Pincus’ “revolutionary 10 years ago” gun, the PD10, is now going to be available in 30 Super Carry. While I’m not a big fan of Rob, I am a big fan of the cartridge. I’m also willing to admit that it does seem to be a dying cartridge. Anyway, I hope the general gun-buying public changes their collective mind about it.

About the PD10 in 30SC specifically, it has a 4″ barrel (most 30SC are no more than 3″), is single stack, striker fired, and comes with an optics place system. 30SC increases the 10-round mag to a 12-round with no loss of power. Honestly not a bad package. MSRP: $625

HENRY ARMS: Lever Action Supreme in .223 & .300BLK

Henry has introduced a new lever gun. …sorta. This new gun is a box mag-fed .223 or .300BLK. It takes a pic rail on top right out of the box, is threaded for use with a silencers, and the mags it takes are AR mags. Yes, you can slap a 30-round pmag in your suppressed lever gun. What a time to be alive!

This gun to me looks like a slightly modded variation of their Long Ranger series, which was available in .308, .6.5 Creedmoore, .243, and .223. The big difference is that the Long Rangers took proprietary mags and this new Supreme takes AR mags. Very smart on Henry’s part. I look forward to seeing these be very popular, if Henry can produce them in sufficient numbers.

FLUX DEFENSE: Raider 365

Flux defense brings the ability to turn your EDC into a PDW to the Sig P365. Wild, I know, but hang on. This is a little more involved than what they normally offer. The normal Flux chassis had a spring loaded telescoping brace, whereas this chassis’s brace in a swing-out design, meaning a much more usable length of pull and on a smaller gun.  The Raider 365 is an all-aluminum chassis, requires a new 6″ barrel Flux sells, and will retail around a grand. I don’t see this being a giant commercial success. Still cool though.

DESERT TECH: WLVRN Bullpup Rifle

Long story short: Desert Tech has replaced the MDRX bullpup rifle with a totally new replacment gun: the WLVRN. It is chambered in 5.56, .300BLK, 6.5 Creed, and .308. It will utilize a caliber swapping system meaning that you can go from shooting an intermediate caliber to a short action rifle caliber without needing another gun. The WLVRN is 49 parts simpler and $250 more expensive than the MDRX it’s replacing. Honestly kinda cool, even if they are doing away with the forward-eject feature.

AERO PRECISION:

So, Smith & Wesson isn’t the only company to drop a new lever gun out of the blue on us this year. Aero showed off a pre-production model repro of the 1895 lever gun. As can be seen by the lower of the two guns on the video thumbnail, this one is intended to be tactical right out of the box. The guy from Aero in the video mentions that Stag Arms will be carrying the more traditional wood-stocked version of these guns. They will be initially offered in .30-30 and .45-70, and compatible with already existing Marlin 1895 furniture.

BERETTA: 92 G-TS

Beretta combined a few of the guns they released in the last few years into what may be the most desirable potential EDC gun for me: A DA/SA with a frame mounted(!) de-cocker. The “G” in the title means de-cocker only, no safe position. The “TS” stands for twin-sear, which I guess they had to design to get the de-cocker onto the frame? It’s not entirely clear, but the gist of it is that this new gun retains 100% parts compatibility with older gen 92 slides, including those with slide-mounted safeties. If you wanted to just be goofy about it. The new 92 GTS includes the optics plate system and a front rail, meaning this sucker is loaded with features. $800 MSRP for the all-black standard model.

BOND ARMS: “LVRB” Lever-Action AR

I’m starting to notice a pattern. New lever guns, more lever guns, and EVEN MOAR NEW LEVER GUNS! I guess this one from Bond Arms has actually been shown off before, but SHOT Show vaporware doesn’t count in my mind, so here we are again.

The LVRB is noticeably different though, because it is less a lever gun made tactical and more of an AR with a lever-actuated action. I find this intriguing because that means that lots of AR-intended accessories still work. Scope mounts, lights, lasers, bipods, and (most importantly) different calibers! Lever gun in .223? Check. .300BLK? check. Silenced .350 Legend? If you got the can, absolutely! Hell, ever wanted to see a lever gun chambered in 6mm ARC? Now you can! This gun may look like hell, but the possibilities are limitless. This seems like a direct competitor to the Henry Supreme above, but this one traded looks for utility. I’m very excited for this one.

HARRINGTON & RICHARDSON: AR Wood Furniture

Harrington & Richardson is a retro-AR producer who got scooped up by PSA (or, at least their holding company) a year or two ago a la Remington Outdoors. Except, unlike Big Green, PSA seems content to let these companies continue being good. H&R is previewing a new line of AR furniture for their retro guns, but they are made of American-sourced wood & materials. This is super cool in my book, even if I don’t have any guns that I’d consider putting them on.

CZ-USA: Scorpion Evo in .22LR

The title says it all. MSRP around a grand, no pistol version expected.

Big letdown, honestly, but maybe interesting to some.

RISE ARMAMENT: Watchman XR in 22ARC

Honestly, I didn’t know that Rise Armament made entire guns, I thought they only made triggers. Or maybe this is the first? That’s not really as important as what this new rifle is chambered in: the new 22ARC from Hornady. Most people may look at this and wonder why 22ARC matters when 6mmARC is so close in diameter and already established. I like the 22ARC because it is basically a way to put a 22-250 into an AR-15 size receiver. Hornady really optimized the new 22ARC to shoot heavy projectiles at long distance, like a PRS-style of shooting. The ammo will have 88gr loads available on store shelves that stock it. The gun itself has a lot of cool but not ground-breaking features, and it’s $2,100 price tag indicates that it should be a fine rifle.

TAURUS: .327 TORO

Taurus is introducing a new carry revolver in my personal favorite wheelgun cartridge: .327 Federal magnum. The gun is a 6-shot, small-frame, optics-ready piece with a 3″ barrel, and a spurred hammer. When I think of a super versatile small gun, this is what pops in my mind. There are better options if you want to seriously increase the size o your carry gun, but the combination of size, power, and capacity can’t be beat. Plus, this one is optics ready. MSRP of $554 makes this hard to beat on multiple fronts.

HARRINGTON & RICHARDSON: Clone Correct DOE AR-9

To be completely fair, I don’t know much about Colt-style AR9’s. I do know that that PPC’s should run dual-feed stick mags and that Glock mags look terrible handing out the bottom of a receiver. H&R making clone-correct Colt 9mm SMGs (really PCCs) that use those Colt stick mags makes me happy. The DOE gun specifically is very neat and aesthetic. No idea about a price nor an estimated time of availability.

WRAITHWORKS: WARP-15

The WARP-15 is an all-plastic AR-15. They use the KE-Arms all-polymer lower and mate it to their own creation almost-all-polymer upper. The resulting gun is around 5 pounds total and should have a price tag in the $400-$500 range. The way they can make a polymer upper is by holding the barrel with a trunnion, with the polymer clam-shelled around it. Basically like how a normal AR upper is a bolt locking into the barrel extension and everything else doesn’t experience real stress from firing, this gun works with a similar concept. A bolt, trunnion, and barrel all made of steel contain the real forces of firing and the rest is polymer to reduce weight. The handguard and receiver are injection molded as a single piece. Definitely not going to hold zero on a laser aiming device, but I don’t think this is aimed at NODs users.

Honestly I like this gun. I hope it works well and I hope the company sells a ton of them.

SENEX ARMS: MBLR-15

A bullpup AR. Been done a dozen times already, I know, but this one seems different. It’s not just a conversion lower, or some sort of Bubba’d abomination. Senex looks to have put some serious engineering work into this gun. This gun is actually an AR-18, except modified beyond that. The AR-18 upper and lower receivers have been converted into a single piece bullpup receiver. While bullpupp-ing the AR-18, Senex has allowed the use of lots of common AR parts, like standard barrels, gas blocks & tubes, cam pins, firing pins, gas keys, and other minor parts. Honestly that’s pretty smart on their part. I’m not sure how much use the quick-change barrel and handguard will get by end-users. Lots of companies really thought that would take off but it just never does.

The main thing I think makes this gun worthy of note is that I want to promote more innovation in the firearms industry (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4). More new stuff, more different things, and this counts for me.